The ongoing political and legal stand-off between the Georgian government and the opposition over the ownership of the Rustavi 2 TV channel (Rustavi 2, Media.ge, October 2; see EDM, October 26) has become even more tense as new wiretapped recordings surfaced on October 29. The Ukrainian website Uarevo.in.ua published alleged recently recorded phone conversations between former president Mikhail Saakashvili (now the governor of Ukraine’s Odesa region) and two of his close political allies in Georgia: Nika Gvaramia, the chief of Rustavi 2, and Giga Bokeria, the former secretary of national security and, currently, one of the leaders of the opposition …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation